Marketing Techniques Are Used to Market Products Essay

P1 – describe how marketing techniques are used to market products in two organisations’ Marketing is the activity and process for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchange a product or service; which has values for the customers/clients. Overall it is an integrated process which builds customer relationship and creates an identity for their customers and themselves. However, marketing can be separated into submarkets – Business to Consumer marketing and Business to Business marketing. Business to Consumer Marketing: This is the process by which companies create a value for customers and build a strong customer relationship. Importance of creating a customer relationship is for the business to capture a return value from the customer; (e.g. Newsagent to Consumer). Business to Business Marketing: This is creating a value, solution, and relationship either for a short term or a long term with a business or a brand. This process generates a strategy that motivates sales techniques, business communication, and business developments; (e.g. Wholesalers to Newsagents). †¢A business with an aim is the goal the business wants to achieve (Long Term). Primary aim for all business organisations is to add value to the product or service they are providing and some businesses involve in making some profit. Some other aims include more strategic options like expansion, market leadership/increase in market share and brand building. †¢Business objective is more of step by step plan to take in order to achieve a stated aim (Short Term). To know the progress made by the business to achieve the objective, SMART plan used: Private Sector: Businesses in the private sector are owned by private individuals or groups. The main aims and objectives of a private sector business are to make profit and survive. Examples are: Ford, Nokia and Armani. Public Sector: Businesses in the public sector are owned or controlled by the government or regional authorities. Public sector businesses aims and objectives are not necessarily aiming to make a profit; most of their money comes from funds that are acquired through tax revenue. These types of business organisation for example are: NHS, Fire Services and State Schools. Voluntary Sectors: Businesses in the voluntary sector raise money to support particular cause or provide a service to those in need. Even though voluntary sector businesses do not aim to make a profit, they do aim to make a surplus after all costs have been covered. Another aim voluntary sector businesses may have is to increase service provision. Examples of this type of business are: Save The Children, Cancer Research UK, RSPCA. However, public and voluntary organisations have similar aims to the private sector; which is to run efficiently. The three sectors can plan their objectives by using SMART: Specific – making sure the objective is clear and readable. Measureable – for example, the data can be quantified. Achievable – if the objective is possible to be attained. Realistic – make sure the objective is real depending on the current stature of the business. Time Bound – making sure the objective can be achieved in an associated time period. Marketing strategies define objectives, plan and produce the way the business is going to satisfy customers in the chosen market. Using market strategy, businesses set marketing goals, define target markets and describes how the business should work to achieve the positioning to have an advantage over its competitors. The process used for marketing strategy has three steps, which are shown below: 1.Research and Planning During this period, the business/organisation first develops an understanding and gathers a clear picture of their target customers. As well as understanding the customers, the firm also analyse their market and competition. This gives them a view of what the markets are wanting and what the market needs and also they can follow the steps of the competitors. With this information they can then plan and start developing their market strategy. 2.Developing The Market Strategy This is the next step after collecting data from analysing the market and competition and also understanding the market’s needs and wants. Next steps are to refine the distribution; so what would be the best way to deliver the product or service to the target customer. The firm at this point identify their objectives and choose the right path to exploit any opportunities seen during the research stage. 3.Determining Actions and Controls Final stage is when you implement the strategy. So to implement the strategy; the organisation has to analyse the financial costs by creating a budget and evaluate the costs. After having this data calculated, the marketing strategy is then put into action and during the period of the activation of the strategy the firm will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of the strategy and either start planning for a new one or extend if there may be any faults in the recent strategy. Now looking at the two businesses given; Brodie’s Beer and Cadburys plc; they both are private sector businesses with Brodie’s Beer having aims to survive and maximising profit and Cadburys plc’s aims is to increase growth in market share and maximising profit. Cadburys Plc One of Cadburys’ products called Fuse was being developed and Cadburys had an objective set while working on their new product. Their objectives were: To grow the market for chocolate confectionary. To increase Cadburys’ share of the snacking sector. So when developing the product, the objective â€Å"increase Cadburys’ share of the snacking sector† was set to make sure that when Cadbury launched another product; it had a USP (Unique Selling Point. Fuse is a snacking and chocolate bar and was developed to bolster the position of Cadburys against the consumer trend towards snacking. Cadburys had a target market of ages from 16-34 when launching the fuse bar and had launched a ‘Fuseday’ campaign for the release of the chocolate/snacking bar Fuse. They had used Direct Marketing by having sponsorship from the Daily Mirror and Live TV and also Public Relation campaign involving national TV, radio and press coverage. The product Fuse; was the first national product launch from Cadburys in over 20 years and due to the high marketing commitment; over 40 million bars were delivered to trade in the first week of launch. Branding technique was used for all the marketing of the Fuse bar and the campaign called ‘Fuseday’ – it produces a positive image and presents an awareness of the product and company through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme. There are also other marketing techniques that are used for new or existing products in a new or existing market, these techniques are: growth strategies, survival strategy and relationship marketing. Brodie’s Beer Ltd Brodie’s Beer is a private limited company in the private sector. They brewer their own beers and also sell them. One of the beers they have is: Stillwater, Premium 45, 8.5% – Belgian Malt Liquor. 50% Corn and Massive dry hops of Galaxy, Citra, Kohatu Brodie’s Beer market their products by launching an event which allows the public to examine and ponder round in the brewery looking and tasting the different types of beer – free samples. This is one sort of relationship marketing and giving away free samples is an attractive way to advertise their products and the business itself to the open public. This allows customers to have a ‘test drive’ of the products that the businesses want to promote. The long term of free samples is that the customers will remember this act and will start purchasing the products. Free samples also bring in new customers and new products into the market and this gives Brodie’s Beer the opportunity to gain new loyal customers – which is the benefit of relationship marketing. The only drawback to this is the financial investment. All the money spent in brewing the alcohol and then giving most of it as tasters is a drawback as the time and money spent can go to waste if those customers are not going to purchase any beer in the future. However giving away free samples is a win-win strategy for the business as well as the consumers.

Dealing with various types of emergency procedures Essay

The following sets out the principles for dealing with various types of emergency procedures within schools & is given as guidance only. Fire & other emergencies In the event of fire & other emergencies (such as gas leak, flood & bomb scare) buildings need to be evacuated quickly but safely. In all schools there should be clear, detailed procedures on evacuation which must be displayed in each area of the school. These procedures should give information on: How to raise the alarm in the event of an emergency. What to do if you hear the fire alarm. The nearest assembly point – this may be a playground, sports field or even a nearby evacuation centre/safety perimeter following instructions from police. Registers should be available so staff can account for the safety & whereabouts of all the children. The route you should take – this should include a plan of the route from each room or area of the school, detailing the nearest fire exits. No staff or children should be allowed to stop to collect personal belongings or put on coats. Must not re-enter the building until you have been informed it is safe to do so. Security There should be security in place in schools to minimise the risks to children. As a teaching assistant, you must know what these are & follow the procedures at all times. These procedures should include: Security locks on doors. Signing in procedures/visitor badges (you should be able to identify all visitors to the school by badges. If unsure about someone you see on the school grounds, always report your concern to someone higher). Procedures for collection of younger children. Registration. Missing children While security measures should minimise the risk of children going missing, it is vitally important that you follow the school guidelines. As a teaching assistant, you may be asked to accompany children on school visits & to supervise a group of children. All staff present on such visits should make regular checks that all children are present. Some schools may require all the children to wear hi-visibility vests or other items which make them easily identifiable during school outings. On discovering children are missing, you must take the following immediate action: Report to the teacher responsible. Ensure the presence & safety of the other children by checking the register. Check all surrounding areas from where the child/Children have gone missing, whether it is in the school grounds or during an outing. Inform the child/children’s parents.

Acet Essy

In order for the Committee on Admission and Aid to get to know you better, answer the question below in the form of an essay. â€Å"Are there any significant experiences you have had, or accomplishments you have realized that have helped to define you as a person? † â€Å"l love you, Lord, my strength. † In the course of my life, I have encountered several trials and several attainments, but despite all of those experiences; one unforgettable moment struck me the most. The car accident happened in a Sunday evening back in February of 2011.There was a strong hit at the right side of the back of our car which led the car to swerve to the feet, and collide on a passing Jeep. The sad thing about the incident was that the point of impact on my side was strong. I fell unconscious after my head hit the door and I didn't know what happened next. I only felt that I was regaining consciousness when I was already in a tricycle with my dad. My vision wasn't clear and I can feel som ething painful on my face; I was troubled and nervous about what was going on and what has happened.Vie come to understand it after I woke up in a hospital lying on a bed. I was very confused why I was laid on a bed, why my mom and relatives were around me. It turned out that I was the one they were fretting over. My mom told me about the accident while she was sobbing. My mind went blank; all I can think about was, â€Å"How? Why? Is this real? † I was transferred and referred to another hospital, then another until I had my operation. The doctors read all laboratory findings and tests and they told me that I was lucky enough that my left eye didn't end up blind.I was seriously hurt physically and mentally. Knowing the bills for the operation, medicines, hospital was very grieving. My parent's had to pay thousands of pesos Just because of what happened to me. They had to drive to and from one capital to another Just for check-ups. My conscience ate me, â€Å"Aka kaki eh! Gu ng Hindi aka undergrad's, wall an sang epigraph Pasadena mega angular MO at serial MO! † I felt that I was held responsible that we were experiencing those hardships.It wasn't easy for me to bear that thought, and then another thought entered my mind, â€Å"Piano gung sill Mommy, Daddy, bat mongo chapatti at pins nag undergrad's? Slang pat nag nightcap at aka okay an okay? † I can't even stand the thought of it ever happening. I said to myself that I was a hero for saving them; it was far okay for me to be the one who's hurt and not them. I have come to realize and regret so many things in life that time; in the billions of people in the world, why me? Out of the many possible things that could have happened, why this?Why was the taxi driver so reckless and so stupid? Had I not lead a virtuous and faithful life to deserve this? Why? I felt so many regrets and blame. There were so many questions and realizations that passed through my mind. It wasn't very easy for me to bear what I have gone through. It went to the point that I questioned God why did it happen. I experienced a lot of suffering and struggle when I was still in the hospital ND recovering at home. I missed almost the 4th quarter of my 1st year high school started the 4th Quarter at a very short time.In spite of the downfall I experienced; I clung on to the Lord and believed on myself on what the future I hold if I let it pass or let it be a chance for better progress. I believed that it was a test from God to see if I will fall down or stand up. I was sure that it was only the beginning of how life really was. â€Å"Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. † It reflected the life Vie gone through back then. This incident made e define myself as it allowed me put myself in others' shoes.I saw my condition as a chance to reflect and see what was really going on. It defined me as a person in a way that I showed more importance fo r others than myself. My faith was more sincere and true. No matter what pint of depression, no matter what pint of loneliness you're in, no matter how deep of trouble you are; God will always walk with you and will always be with you facing those difficulties. Guided by this vision and understanding, I was awarded a bronze medal in the Honors' Assembly the following school year. Hoping that more of these will come and God will continue to bless and guide me.It was a Sunday evening in February 13 of 2011 that our family experienced a car accident, and I faced a tragic event in my life. It was the most depressing and fearful episode of my life I have ever experienced. Deep thoughts entered my mind, emotions and feelings Vie never felt before. Will I take it as an obstacle in my life or take it as an opportunity? I made a decision to take it as an opportunity and use it for my never ending success in the continuous days of my life. â€Å"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. † -John F. Kennedy

Final for HS 5900 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Final for HS 5900 - Essay Example Adult education curriculum and content varies from country to country, community to another and between contents, this is because the need for the education varies. Specifically, adult education varies in content like educating adults who have no high school diploma by imparting that level skills to earn a diploma. Some adults are illiterate in language (reading and writing) and basic math. It takes the initiative of the government and civil society to deliver education to those who are illiterate. During times of unemployment, employees can go through education sessions to keep them busy, when they are hired back, they have the skills to continue. There are those who need skills n a trade like welding, masonry, art, carpentry, technicians and community development. There could be adults with jobs and would wish to improve skills specific to the job to earn promotion or retention in case of downsizing. Historically, original forms of adult were aimed at enabling the adults to read an d write while doing bible studies after it was widely accepted to be read. During agrarian and industrial revolution, adult education was meant to equip the population with skills to work in farms, stores and factories. There are five philosophies in adult education; liberal, progressive, behavioral, humanistic and radical. The role of adult education in every situation will determine the category under which the philosophy will be characterized. For example, liberal is meant to impart principles and absolutes aimed at well-rounded perspective of the world lasting a lifetime. In progressive, learners gain problem-solving skills relating to their lives to provide practical skills out of the experience of the learner (Jarvis 111). Behavioral philosophy, as the name suggests, is to promote behavioral change and skill development with the education environment being structured. The learners have no input in the setting of the objectives, their role being to master every skill before mov ing to the next. Humanistic philosophy is meant to foster personal growth and development by involving the learner in knowledge construction and self development. The learner is motivated and directs the learning process. The last philosophy is radical where education is used as a means to bring about fundamental changes socially, economically, politically and culturally. It is meant to empower individuals to fight for change and raise awareness on issues of social justice to bring about a revolution. The learner here is a voluntary participant in the process with teachers holding equal status as them as they are merely facilitating support for the status quo challenge. In all these diversities, adult education has to remain as they are as they serve different roles for different individuals. It might be expensive for sponsors of the system, but the objective is far greater than the costs of not educating the adults. Religion would not have reached many as it is today and agrarian a nd industrial revolution would not have succeeded. Social change cannot be realized, and political autocracy will continue. Currently, there are dynamic changes in the global stage in information, economic shifts, technology, and politics. It is happening at farfetched locations, far from the control of any power referred to as globalization. The ambivalent impact it brings along poses a great challenge to

MNEs only tend to migrate to greener activity if force by government Essay

MNEs only tend to migrate to greener activity if force by government regulations - Essay Example The rest of the essay will present views from both sides of the debate and argue that ultimately a strong regulatory framework is essential if Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) are to take green standards seriously. In looking to answer the topic question, it is useful to peruse sociological scholarship and policy literature on the subject. Conventionally, analyses of the topic have tended to focus on corporate compliance within existing legislations. Here, it is tacitly assumed that complying with regulations by targeted groups is essential and sufficient for meeting goals of social regulation. (Dahl, 2010, p.248) Another assumption is that business enterprises go out of their way and improve their green standards only when they are faced with steep penalties for failing to do so. In this analytic framework, corporations are seen as ‘amoral calculators’ of risk and reward for themselves; and their primary motive is to maximize profits while minimizing losses in the form of penalties. This used to be the traditional view on corporate compliance. Yet, in recent years a refreshingly new pattern of corporate behaviour has started to emerge, giving government agencies and social activists renewed hope. (Kagan, et. Al., 2003, p.52) â€Å"It is becoming apparent that an increasing number of companies now perform, to a greater or lesser extent, "beyond compliance" with existing regulatory requirements. This suggests that the degree of variation in, and the motivations for, corporate behaviour may be much broader than many researchers have imagined previously. This is of practical importance: some existing regulatory strategies, in focusing on compliance, have failed to facilitate, reward, or encourage beyond-compliance behaviour, or even inadvertently discourage it, while other regulatory reformers, in contrast, have argued that government-mandated self-regulation  is the key to progress.† (Kagan, et. Al., 2003, p.51) Hence, it could be argued, th at MNE’s need not always be pushed by government regulations in order to make their activities clean and green. Scholars such as Samuel Loewenberg, on the other hand, are not quite enthused by the record of major corporations (especially those based in the United States), in upholding green standards. The chemical industry in the United States, which is a major contributor to environmental pollution, has been a culprit in this regard. While the industry got away with its slack quality and safety standards in its home country, it got into controversies upon entry into the European market. The EU, worried that it does not possess health and environmental data on most of the chemical compounds currently in use, is drawing up legislation that â€Å"by 2005 will require the industry to conduct extensive safety tests on 30,000 common chemicals. At least 1,500 are expected to be banned or severely restricted in their use as a result. The industry estimates that the testing alone wi ll cost it more than $7.5 billion.† (Loewenberg, 2003, p.55) MNE’s based in the United States, whose present safety norms are supported by Washington, continues to put pressure on the EU to loosen up its standards. In Washington, MNEs wielding insider connections and an abundance of campaign funds are used to wooing legislators and regulators. (Vernon, 2010, p.B04) But this tactic does not

Women and Poverty in the Philippines Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Women and Poverty in the Philippines - Essay Example Bear in mind that in a lot of these cases the women are primary income earners, and in their quest for high-paying jobs they often rolling the dice with a heavy heart. A lot of the income earned by these women fuel the economies of their home countries to the tune of millions of dollars annually. The question is, have the effects of poverty effectively dehumanized the women living in developing countries Let us take a closer look at the situation of women in the Philippines, one of the world's leading providers of woman migrant workers because of the seething poverty that is prevalent in the country. (United Nations Development Fund for Women, 2008) Women in the Philippines are considered the backbone of its society, being a Roman Catholic country. While most men are still the primary wage earners, a significant portion of women are the breadwinners of an increasingly large number of single-parent households. Now, the main point of contention here is that the Philippines is not exactly an equal opportunity employer. The majority of the well-paying jobs still go to the men, and women are oftentimes relegated to low-paying, menial work such as secretarial jobs or clerking posts. And that's if they choose to do it the " honorable" way. Rampant stories run abound about with nursing school graduates saddled with an unwanted pregnancy, and are then forced to work as prostitutes to support the child as the husband had abandoned her. The Philippines is a country seemingly built for infidelity, and the practice is as socially accepted as it can ever get.. Thus, women are often saddled with unwanted babies, and with no good-paying jobs t o support them, are forced to turn to drastic measures. (Department of Social Welfare and Development, 2008) While not all women are keen on exploring prostitution as a living , the next best alternative is to look for jobs abroad as a migrant worker. A lot of times these women would roll the dice and pay exorbitant "placement fees" to recruitment agencies just to land jobs overseas. These fees can go as high up as $1000- $2000, and some agency contracts will automatically deduct the amount through monthly installments from whatever will be earned overseas. For a country where the daily minimum wage is approximately Php 365 (roughly about $9), these placement fees oftentimes have these migrant worker aspirants committing their entire life savings in the hope for a better life. (Department of Labor and Employment, 2008) Because of poverty, it truly is a shot in the dark for these women, and they are willing to risk everything in order for their families to live comfortably. Once again, the burden of sacrifice is left on their shoulders. If the Filipina is lucky enough to indeed land the job she was promised, one last pitfall is to be at the mercy of an abusive employer. These all the more illustrate the sorry state of poverty in the Philippines, where economic status is terribly disproportionate, just like in India. The rich are ridiculously wealthy, while the rest of the country toils in crippling poverty. There is no defined middle class, hence no decent-paying jobs are available for majority of these women. (Countrystudies : Philippines, 2008) In the

Victimology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Victimology - Research Paper Example Moreover, the rights of the victims should also be considered in plea agreements in the court system. However, this does not imply that the victims of the offense in question should dictate the terms and type of the plea agreements. It simply means, when deciding on which plea agreement the prosecutor should give the offender, he or she should consider the effect the offense resulted in to the victim. For example in this case study, Mr. C is an elderly citizen and truly deserves leniency from the prosecutor. However, due to his drunk driving a man dearly loved by his wife lost his life. This loss of life resulted in a lot of emotional pain, and to some extent economic stress to the victim since naturally the husband might have been the bread winner. Hence, I would advise Mrs. C to follow up on the plea agreement since it is her right to be involved in the discussions of the plea agreement. It is the duty of the Judge or Magistrate to make sure that the victim’s rights are upheld during plea agreements. For example, in the case against Mr. C it is the duty of the Judge assigned to the case to inform Mrs. C that she should be involved in the plea agreement. The judge should also make sure that the victim’s rights are upheld by instructing the prosecution to involve her in the plea agreement between the state and Mr. C. The victim rights should and are considered by both the prosecution and Judge listening to the case. However, the victim is not involved in the sentencing. This is prohibited. There are various reasons why victims are not part of the decision regarding sentencing. One such reason is that the victim is expected to be biased due to the emotional effect the offense had on him or her. For example, Mrs. B is obviously very bitter at Mr. C for killing her husband. She feels like Mr. C took her husband away from her. Hence, she is very bitter at him and is obviously seeking revenge more than justice. So she would prefer a

5 page in depth essay on any topic of criminal justice system of New

5 page in depth on any topic of criminal justice system of New York - Essay Example This paper will explore these and ultimately examine the relationship between incarceration and crime. The positive change in the prison statistics in the state of New York is attributed to the changes and reforms in the law enforcement policies of the state. The state has led reforms and innovations particularly in regard to the reformatory characteristic of its incarceration policy and its introduction of the modern parole. Reform was forced out of the policymakers because in the first half of 1990s, tightening revenues threaten the budget of correctional facilities and that the state correction facilities were then already overcrowded and still more prisoners are awaiting assignments. And so, one of the first acts as governor of the former Governor George Pataki was to loosen laws on minor repeat offenders in order to help decrease prison population and help ease the pressure on the correction system. (Clear, Cole and Reisig 15) Then the state legislature amended and relaxed the so-called Rockefeller Drug Laws, which made New York one of the strictest states when it came to polici ng drug offenders. Indeed, starting the latter half of the 1990s onwards, the prison commitments steadily dropped prompting the state to close some prison facilities and save millions of taxpayers’ money. The New York experience highlighted the requirement of effective prison policy – one that is characterized by a set of graduated options that can be tailored to specific situations. This led New York policymakers and criminal justice planners to one of its new policies - the use of a variety of alternative sentencing mechanisms, which include: residential community corrections; community service and alternatives to corrections; and, probation. (Mumpower and Ilchman 544) All these alternatives are considered to be less punitive and incapacitative than state prison, but in graduated degrees. Changes in law enforcement policies included the police making fewer

Coca-Cola Company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Coca-Cola Company - Research Paper Example Indeed, Coca Cola’s strategic marketing and management processes add to the company’s firmly embedded financial leadership in the non-alcoholic beverage market segment. Introduction Coca Cola’s strategic marketing and management plans catapults the entity as one of the world’s popular non-alcoholic beverages. The research centers on the history of Coca Cola. The research includes producing a financial statement analysis of Coca Cola America. The study incorporates the similarities and differences between the production processes of both Coca Cola America and Coca Cola Mexico. Coca Cola’s strategic marketing and management processes precipitates to the company’s current financial leadership in the non-alcoholic beverage market segment. History of Coca-Cola. Lonnie Bell (2004) emphasized Coca – Cola, the world’s soft drink, was accidentally invented by Dr. John Pemberton. Dr. Pemberton, a pharmacist from Atlanta, Georgia, formulat ed the Coca-Cola syrup using a three legged brass pot. Dr. Pemberton used two chief ingredients for his invention in 1886. The two ingredients are coca plant and the Kola nut. The Coca plant is a good source of Cocaine. However, Dr. Pemberton insisted that Coca Cola contains only 1 % Cocaine percentage. Paul Gootenberg (1999) theorized â€Å"Cocaine made its first appearance in the United States during the 1880s, when physicians first interested themselves in the drug's therapeutic potential. Limited at first to a relatively narrow range of therapeutic use, cocaine's popularity grew far beyond the boundaries of medical practice. By the late 1890s, many observers came to believe that the popular... This paper stresses that Coca Cola’s strategic marketing and management plans catapults the entity as one of the world’s popular non-alcoholic beverages. The research centers on the history of Coca Cola. The research includes producing a financial statement analysis of Coca Cola America. The study incorporates the similarities and differences between the production processes of both Coca Cola America and Coca Cola Mexico. Coca Cola’s strategic marketing and management processes precipitates to the company’s current financial leadership in the non-alcoholic beverage market segment. This report makes a conclusion that based on the above discussion, Coca Cola’s strategic marketing as well as management plan contributes to company’s retaining its century old popularity in the non-alcoholic beverages market segment. The constant innovative changes in the company’s packaging and ingredients translate to the current pinnacle of Coca Cola’s financial success. The financial statement analysis indicates Coca Cola’s innovative and creative production and marketing strategies significantly contribute to Coca Cola’s current favorable financial picture. There are some similarities and differences between the production processes of both Coca Cola America and Coca Cola Mexico. Indeed, Coca Cola’s strategic marketing and management processes metamorphose to the company’s firmly entrenched financial leadership in the non-alcoholic beverage market segment.

Disaster Recovery Plan Essay Example for Free

Disaster Recovery Plan Essay Disasters have become an inevitable part of businesses and organizations as well. They not only have a major effect on business and organizational continuity; they also result to an overhaul in organizational operational mechanisms (Awasthy, 2009). It is for this reason that many organizations and business resort to preparing business continuity plans and disaster recovery plans that will facilitate better disaster management in future. Effective disaster recovery plans are important to every business and organization (Thejendra, 2008). This is a disaster recovery plan is prepared for Bain Company. This plan establishes goals, objectives and programs for the handling threats and natural disasters. The plan will provide a framework for recovery by anticipating future threats and disasters within or around the organization. It will be aimed at considering the security and protection of the business staff and its clients. It will also ensure that there is a reduced amount of business intermission that disasters are usually associated with. Examples of disasters that may occur within the business are: natural disasters such as tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes, among others; terrorist threats, bomb attacks, strikes and civil riots, fires, among others (Thejendra, 2008). Bain Company Bain Company is a business consulting firm that works with many executives from different organizations to assist and aid them in making proficient decisions, actualize these decisions and enhance business sustainability. Its main objectives include enhancing business ideas into viable actions; to have a paradigm shift in business management and enhance innovations and technologies into business operations. With over 48 offices in 31 countries worldwide, it is a global entity with an edge over the rest. Disaster Recovery Plan for Bain Company The Disaster Recovery Plan that will give reference of how disaster recovery will be done, the responsibilities of each actor, and recovery measures that will be taken in case of occurrence of disasters. The plan will also include the safety measures or proposals for better safety techniques (Menken and Blokdjik, 2010). Confidentiality Statement This document will remain the property of Bain Company and shall not be duplicated or given out under any circumstance; reliant on the fact that the type of information in the plan is endemic to Bain Company. Document Distribution Every member of the management and planning team will keep copies of the manual plan. Distribution will be kept in track by the Disaster Management Board of Bain Company. Plan Objectives †¢ To ensure that the safety and protection of all the employees and customers of the firm is enhanced in case of disasters †¢ To ensure that business continuity of Bain Company is enhanced without much intermission. †¢ To ensure that information is well handled and controlled during the disaster recovery process. †¢ To consider alternative courses of action that will be used in the worst case scenario. Recovery Strategies These are the measures that Bain Company should implement in order to enhance business continuity and avoid rapid losses (Thejendra, 2008). It should have a computing system of business and firm records. This will ensure that data backup is enhanced and therefore during disasters business records of Bain Company still available. This will ensure that the business operations continue to run effectively. The firm should also consider establishing an external facility that will house them in case the building they were housed in previously is destroyed. This will also ensure that the operations of Bain Company continue to run smoothly without breaks (Thejendra, 2008). The management of Bain Company should ensure that the firm runs under insurance. Insuring the firm’s activities will ensure that the firm is able to make up for the lost equipment, furniture as well as data. Consequently, it will make sure that Bain Company does not run at a loss when trying to replace these items (Awasthy, 2009). Disaster Plan Declaration All efforts of the firm are aimed at establishing and developing an active and cyclic planning process and document that will foster innovation and technology and that will ensure that the disaster recovery process is participatory, up to date and timely to meet the objectives of Bain Company. Assessment of security Security measures to be input into the firm to boost disaster recovery process include establishing firm registry in bomb proof vaults that will shield the firm’s documents and data from disasters such as terrorist attacks. Such will ensure that the records of the firm are not tampered with and as such the company is able to run business without fundamental data loss (Menken and Blokdjik, 2010). The company can also ensure the installment of fire extinguishers and fire exit doors within the firm’s premises to create better channels of evacuation during fire outbreaks. In addition, smoke detectors and alarms should also be installed to signify and create warnings in case of such. Establishing access codes to data registries is another security measure that the firm can uphold. This will ensure that confidential data and information is only managed by a certain level of management. In addition, during threats such as civil unrests or riots data will be managed effectively (Thejendra, 2008). Potential disaster scenarios and methods of dealing with the disaster Potential disasters that Bain Company may be faced with include fire, bomb or terrorist attacks, dangerous and threatening situations such as riots or attacks, hurricane, tornadoes and earthquakes, among others (Awasthy, 2009). Fire preparedness In case of a fire the employees should report immediately to the nearest fire department office in the area; notify the Incident Commander or Departmental Manager available during that time. If it is a small fire, the person should try extinguishing it using the fire extinguishers available. If it is a large fire, the person should vacate the building and make no attempts to put it out. Once the Incident Commander is on scene, the decision on evacuation will be made. The alarms should be set on so that other employees can be notified of the events going on in the firm. Evacuation should then be made possible by security personnel or evacuation team present. The employees should be warned not to use the lifts or elevators during a fire incident. Employees should also assemble in areas designated for fire assembly (Menken and Blokdjik, 2010). Bomb/ Terrorist attack Preparedness In case of a notification of bomb or terrorist attack in the firm the first step should be to notify police departments immediately. The attack or threat should then be communicated to the Manager and Incident Commander who will organize for evacuation of the building premises. Other departmental heads and members of other firms within the same building should also be notified (Menken and Blokdjik, 2010). Dangerous Attacks and Threatening Situations These may include hostage situations, dealing with armed robbers and strikes and riots from employees. In such situations, one of the employees who is outside the building at such a time should be notified so that they can notify the police departments of the problem. The security personnel of the building where the firm exists should also be notified. If possible, an effort should be made to understand the motive of these people and thus come to an agreement with them (Menken and Blokdjik, 2010). Disaster Recovery Procedures These are the steps that will guide the whole plan and will be implemented in case a disaster occurs. This process will encompass setting and establishing of a set of laws and disciplines that will guarantee business operations to continue without intermissions (Awasthy, 2009). First, there will be need to set up a planning committee that will foresee the establishment of programs to be done in case of a disaster. The plan should be able to oversee all actions and implementary measures necessary. The next step is risk assessment. This is important so that the management of the firm is able to quantify risk levels against the firm from potential disasters. It will also guide the implementation of safety measur es in the firm (Thejendra, 2008). There would be need to establish and define recovery modes and strategies. These are the strategies that the firm would adopt in case a disaster such as a fire hit them. It would define who will be responsible for doing a particular activity, how they will do it and the time allocation for each activity. Furthermore, the preparation and documentation of the formulated plan of action will be done. This will be important because it will enable every member of staff to have the document, get accustomed to it and internalize it so that they are well prepared in case a disaster occurs. Plan documentation is also important for review it and alteration from time to time (Thejendra, 2008). Consequently, alternative courses of action and a verification criterion is developed. They are important because they give the firm other actions to carry out or work with in case the original plan doesn’t fit the needs of the firm at that moment. They will hence enable business continuity (Thejendra, 2008). Finally, plan implementation is the last step in the Disaster Recovery Procedure. This is where the planning team will be able to implement the proposals and courses of action that they have developed in the formulated plan. Incident Response Team This is a team of experts who will be included in the emergency response strategy prepared for the disaster recovery plan. They include: First aid teams, fire control teams, security personnel, supplies teams and service teams (Menken and Blokdjik, 2010). Mission Statement The Bain Company Incident Response Team will support the operations of the firm’s resources through the provision of quality, fast and effective response to disasters (natural and manmade) and threats that face the business and adequate response training through research and innovation. Declaration All human efforts will be geared towards ensuring that the safety, protection and security of all employees and data of the Bain Company are at peak during disaster recovery. It will be the priority of the Incident Response Team to ensure that the sustainability of business operations of Bain Company is enhanced. Organizational structure of the Incident Response Team The Incident Response Team shall have the following an incident command center, planning team, logistics team, operations team and finance team. [pic] Proposed Network Architecture The proposed network architecture will involve a computerized back up system for the company that will back up all the data. All the company data will be stored in a backup system that is rigid and devoid of any disaster in an area that is far from the normal company. The arrows in the above diagram show how data is collected from the branch offices of the company to the main office. The data is then collected and backed up in the facility for quick recovery. Roles and responsibilities The team manager is the person that is accountable of all the actions that the Incident Response Team is tasked to do. The manager is the administrator in general of all the personnel in the team. The Planning team is responsible for charting up a plan of how the incident team will operate. The Logistics team inclusive of Intrusion Analysts identifies the actual intrusion point of the disaster in the firm’s operations. In addition, business resource planners are responsible for mobilization of resources within the firm to ensure interruption of operations is minimal. The operations team will include security personnel responsible for raising awareness and warnings, maintaining order and evacuation supervision; fire control team is responsible for firefighting activities; First Aid team responsible for providing basic and advanced first aid to injured people, if any; supplies teams for providing sanitation and medical supplies, food, and blanket supplies; service teams offer transport, shelter and vital records management. The Public Advisory Manager is responsible for relaying information about the disaster within the firm and also to the press and general public Information flow and methods of communication Information flow within the Incident Response Team should be done through the Public Advisory Committee. They should also answer all general public concerns regarding the disaster that the business has encountered. Any information that is trickled out of the firm should be handled carefully to prevent creating unnecessary tension. It should also be handled through a solitary source to prevent distortion of information. The Public Advisory Committee will determine methods of communication such as hourly announcements via public address systems or through the media so that the general public can be aware as well. Services provided by the IRT The Incident Response Team provides the following services such as training the staff of the business to instill in them practicable and viable skills of coping with disasters when they occur. In addition it should offer drilling exercises that will improve awareness of how to act in case disasters such as fires happen to occur (Menken and Blokdjik, 2010). Authority and reporting procedures All authority runs back to the Team Manager or Incident Commander. He is responsible for relaying all commands regarding how activities and procedures will be done within the Incident Response Team. All procedures and administrative actions should have a top-down approach. Conclusion Disaster Recovery Plans are important because they help the organization chart out a way forward when encountering natural or manmade disasters. They should be effective, efficient and up to date to keep up with the organizational trends taking shape in the world today. References Awasthy, A. (2009). Disaster Management: Warning Response and Community Relocation. New Delhi: Global India Publications Menken, I. and Blokdijk, G. (2010). Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity It Planning, Implementation, Management and Testing of Solutions and Services Workbook Second Edition. Brisbane: Emereo Pty Limited Thejendra, B. S. (2008). Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity: A Quick Guide for Small Organizations and Busy Executives. London: IT Governance Ltd

Marxism Global Political Economy

Marxism Global Political Economy This paper is aimed at addressing and evaluating the theoretical perspectives of Liberal and Marxist ideas, as well as investigating their theoretical perspectives in relation to International Political Economy (IPE). Researchers studying IPE use a variety of theories for different purposes, such as predicting the stability of economical situations, or predicting economical growth of a state among others. Other political and economical analysts argue that valid predictions are almost impossible because there are too many factors that may have particular influence on the events. Nevertheless, all these people utilize their theoretical knowledge in attempt to get an understanding of the world. However, it is worth questioning the reason for such rich variety of theories being out there. According to Robert Cox (1986), there are two reasons: Theory always has a goal and serves the interests of particular people. For example, the goals of liberal theories are concerned with establishing cooperation and increasing capital, while critical theories (also labelled Marxist) are focused on removing the economic, gender or environmental differences within the society. Both Liberal theories have emerged in the 19th century in Britain during the period of industrial revolution in response to monarchical absolutism. Later in 19th century, Marxism has emerged as a response to the liberal thought. Wealthier states and individuals tend to favour liberal theories, which are in line with their interests and do not threaten their comfort, while those who are less satisfied with their socioeconomic position tend to adopt the critical theories point of view. It is worth noting that it is difficult and almost impossible to prove a theory right or wrong, therefore, evidence can be interpreted in different ways depending on ones goals and views (OBrien Williams, 2007). Therefore different conflicting theoretical perspectives, such as Marxism and Liberalism, have developed. Marxists an d Liberalist mainly differ in their views about the role of individual and role of state in IPE (Raico, 1992). Liberals are concerned about variety of actors ranging from a single individual to particular interest groups, firms and corporations, to state. Nevertheless, liberals starting point for analytical evaluation is the individuals needs; this idea is at the core of neoclassical economic theory. Therefore, liberals look at behaviour of states, firms and individuals in order to analyze global economy, while keeping in mind that the individual is the main actor. The idea is that individuals in their pursuit of self-profit within the competitive environment will benefit and therefore will increase the benefits economic exchange for the masses. Companies and firms play a very important role for the liberals, as they are perceived as a source of economic expenditure and wealth (Jackson Sorensen, 2003). As mentioned above, they believe that state cannot stand as a single actor, due to the idea that it is being influenced by many different factors. Liberals express negativity towards state, si nce they believe that politics should not get involved into the economics. They also, believe that if the market will be free of political influence, which is seen as the force that is distorting the benefits while producing additional costs to the market participants, and will not interfere with the consumption, production and exchange mechanisms then everyone will benefit. Economic liberalists Friedrich Hayeks (1992) slogan laissez-faire is a good example of the liberal view in relation the state. Pluralist (liberal) approach suggests that cooperation is the key and the way forward where people and states can benefit, opposed to the conflict suggested by class-analytic (Marxist) approach. They argue that conflicts should be avoided, and a peaceful resolution should be found through the course of action and agreement of sides that will benefit both, as in liberal view, the world political and economical mechanisms are interdependent rather than anarchical (Connell, 1995). Transnati onal Corporations (TNCs) are believed to benefit both host and home countries, where it boosts economies of host states by means of transfer of capital, access to market, and technology, as well as benefiting the home country where TNC is seen as a mix of capital management skills and technology. Such perspective is referred to as positive-sum game and the idea is that by means of cooperation everyone benefits and prospers. Liberal theorists highlight the fact that in their view the market is located in the centre of economic life and economic progress, which occurs because individuals are pursuing their goals. A liberal theory of comparative advantage suggests that even if one country is producing more goods than another country, trade between the two countries will benefit both. This view is opposed to Marxist theory of zero-sum game, which claims that in order for one to gain the other has to lose. Famous Liberal Political Economists, such as David Ricardo and Adam Smith advocate d state non-interference in free trade and economy. Various well-known slogans have emerged during that period, such as laissez faire (the doctrine of unrestricted freedom in commerce) and mà Ã‚ ¾ndà Ã‚ µ và Ã‚ ° de lui-mà Ã‚ µmà Ã‚ µ (the world goà Ã‚ µs by itself) (Raico, 1977). Contemporary global political economy is mostly being governed according to the principles of liberal ideology. Most forms of economic activity are functioning according to the liberal rules and policy regulations and are based on the goal of free trade. It is evident that nowadays money flows almost freely in and out of countries via stock markets, banks, and big financial corporations. Nowadays liberalism cannot be described with a unitary definition, as different liberal movements have deviated from the core theoretical ideology of liberalism to certain degree thus producing neo-liberal theories that are somewhat different from the ones described by founding fathers of liberalism. It is worth remembering Fukuyamas (1989) work and his speculative prophesy of the end of history, where he argued that liberalism is about to become an only ideology of upmost significance thus ceasing the conflict between the theorists of global political economy. Despite Fukuyamas statement, today, aft er 22 years China one of the most developed economies in the world is still a communist state, as well as few other countries. Nevertheless, most of the countries in the world are dominated by private businesses and corporations with some involvement of the state, as described by Keohane (2002). Liberals suggest that open markets will produce more wealth and will aid economies expenditure around the globe benefiting the humanity. Economic failure is believed to be triggered by the disruptions caused from involvement of the state into the economy. Therefore, liberals are promoting globalization, which they perceive as a force of good that removes artificial boundaries and facilitates growth of production thus contributing to overall wealth of the society (Helleiner, 2003). A set of critical theories have emerged in response to growing popularity of liberalism in 19th century. Unlike liberalists who are looking at individuals and states, these theorists are looking at other units of analysis. The main units of analysis in Marxist theories are class and interest of working class rather than state. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels are the founding fathers of this political movement and the ones that unleashed the conflict between capitalists and workers. Resolution of this conflict was possible only if workers seized power (Marx and Engels, 1848). Marxist writers reject the significance of the individuals of liberal theory, and focus on the significance of the class instead. Marxists perceive capitalist relations being inherently exploitative (Raico, 1992). There has been a lot of debate in relation to definition of class in the literature; therefore, in this paper class is defined according to OBrien and Williams (2007) as à Ã‚ °rising from à Ã‚ ¾nà   µs pà Ã‚ ¾sitià Ã‚ ¾n in the structurà Ã‚ µ of prà Ã‚ ¾ductià Ã‚ ¾n. Karl Marx himself seen the society as a multi-layered cake, with the bourgeoisie (capitalists) sitting on top, owning and controlling the means of production, and proletariat (workers), who sell their labour to the capitalists as a bottom layer of the cake. Therefore, Marxist followers suggest that the firm and the capitalistic regime itself are exploitative and unfair in relation to working class. Marxists see transnational corporations (TNCs) as tools of oppression and exploitation of the working class, because of their power to centralize and concentrate capital, while expressing the dominance, which is the key feature of imperialism (monarchy). Such perspective suggests the state is representative of class interests and not the communal interests. In this respect, the state has a role of executive committee of the ruling class and sometimes referred to as an independent agent of exploitation by som e Marxist writers (Conway, 1987). This idea of exploitation and dominance among the societies and within them is central to Marxist theories global political economy. According to class-analytic approach to global economy, under capitalism workers are not fairly rewarded for their labour, economic relations are being conflicting and unstable. Meaning, that consequently, the rich will become richer and the poor will become poorer and the gap between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat will continue to increase (Gilbert, 2008). Such economical relations are believed to lead to decrease in wages of labourers, uneven development, as some centres increase their capital and growth at the expense of others, which in its turn leads to conflicts between countries, as well as insufficient consumption and overproduction thus affecting social stability and producing fluctuations in the business sector (OBrien and Williams, 2007). For example, dependency theory suggests that poor countries have faced barriers to further development as the consequence of being economically exploited by developed countries (Dos Santos, 1970). This refers to a zero-sum game described above. Therefore, the conflict between states is unavoidable because of the drive for profit. Consequently, liberals seek protection of their state, which in turn leads to conflict and war. For example, the famous Marxist theory about imperialism written by Vladimir Lenin (1917/1969) encapsulates two explanations of capitalist development. First part of his theory is concerned with growth of financial capital and the coalition of industrial capital and finance to form monopolies that sought to produce profit by means of overseas lending. The second part of Lenins theory is concerned about insufficient consumption in domestic market. Insufficient demand on domestic markets has forced capitalists to enter foreign markets due to inability to maintain their profit rates. Such perspective have lead Lenin to a conclusi on that such competition would inevitably lead to conflict and consequently to war. Marxists also tend to argue against globalization, which in their view represents an ideological intervention into global economy, which acts in support of free markets as well as a tool used to pursue interests of the capitalist power over labourers. Some researchers argued, that globalization facilitated by the neoliberal political movements is an instrument of global management and liberalization and is based on misinformation and deception of the masses (Cox, 1996; Gill, 1993). Another clash between the ideologies has occurred in the 21th century, when members of world elites have tried to alter constitutional laws in favour of neoliberal principles in various institutions, including International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization. Neoliberals met the opposition of social political movements trying to protect environmental policy, raise work standards, and facilitate gender equity and seek economic justice (OBrien and Williams, 2007). According to economic liberals, market economy is the way to prosperity for all, and should be run according to its own economic laws without the interference of the state. Global market economy is a sphere described by a positive-sum game model, which advocates that economic exchange will maximise profits of firms, individuals and households, and consequently all members of society will benefit from it. Marxists see the economy as an instrument of exploitation of lower social classes (workers); these interactions are highlighted by the inequalities between proletariat and bourgeoisie. Critical theories advocate, the political strategies are being determined by socioeconomic context. The class that exercises economical power also controls the political power of the state. Marxists believe that capitalist development is uneven and is bound to produce conflicts between states and individuals. Global Political Economy can be defined as the relationship between states and markets on an international scale. Research of this relationship has given birth to conflicting Marxist and Liberal theories discussed in this paper. As it was already mentioned above, each theory serves the interests of particular groups of people with particular goals, and unless the major part of the international political society will come to some sort of an agreement and find a way to cooperate, conflicts will always emerge, and conflicts will always result in losses for someone.